Traveling has become an increasingly important lifestyle for the elderly to realize active aging. The elderly are more inclined to pay attention to wellbeing-related products whilst on vacations, representing a market opportunity for providers of tourism health services. This study conducted an experiment to explore how message framing affects intentions to purchase health services in elderly tourists over the age of 59 years. A total of 216 elderly tourists from Bama, a famous wellness tourism destination in China, were recruited as participants for a single-factor (message framing: positive versus negative) experiment. Our results indicate the following: (1) message framing has a significant impact on elderly tourists' intentions to purchase health services. Compared with messages that are negatively framed, positive messages are more persuasive. (2) Perceived benefits mediate the above relationship. (3) Perceived susceptibility moderates the impact of message framing around perceived benefits, as well as the indirect effect of perceived benefits on purchase intention. Theoretically, this paper clarifies the mechanism and conditions of message framing in relation to its effects on consumer intentions, enriching knowledge about the intersection between tourism and health consumption. This paper also provides guidance for providers of health tourism who are seeking to capture the market of elderly tourists.
Keywords: elderly tourists; message framing; perceived benefits; perceived susceptibility; purchase intention.